


At the Risk of Being Cheesy, I'm Falling For You

by moderateTrouble



Category: The Outer Worlds (Video Game)
Genre: LGBTQ Themes, Nonbinary Character, Other, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-20
Updated: 2019-11-20
Packaged: 2021-02-13 15:10:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21496309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moderateTrouble/pseuds/moderateTrouble
Summary: Just a fun thing exploring the relationship between Nyoka and the Captain. Who knows how long it'll go on for! Who knows if there'll be any real plot. I don't!Just a fun fluffy thing. Also the Captain is nonbinary (they/them)!
Relationships: The Captain/Nyoka (The Outer Worlds)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 22





	1. 1

They came together messily. Salem was on top of her now, the blush spreading over their bewildered face was as pink as Nyoka’s hair. Their bodies were frozen in the same pose as they fell, on the ground next to the table. The bottle of Spectrum Vodka had rolled out of Nyoka’s hand and under the counter when the two had hit the floor. Salem’s hand still gripped her wrist, pinning her gently.

For an Earth kid, Salem’s face was littered with blemishes from odd battle scars. Up this close, Nyoka could make out faint outline of puckered skin peeking out from underneath their eyepatch. Their good eye hadn’t broken contact with hers. There was an odd look in Salem’s eye, a fire behind its golden hue. At first, Nyoka assumed Price was simply embarrassed, but the look they gave made the air catch in her throat. 

Salem finally glanced away and slowly, hesitantly, brought their forehead close to Nyoka’s. Something fluttered in her stomach.

“Nyoka…” Salem muttered. They were so close now, their nose was nearly touching. She could smell the faint bitterness of spent plasma cartridges and Spacer’s Corona.

Without thinking, Nyoka brought a hand to Salem’s cheek. They seemed surprised by the gesture, the pink on their cheeks spreading to their ears. Nyoka had surprised herself.

It was the alcohol, she silently decided, ignoring the pounding in her chest. A one-time thing, if it was going to be anything at all, just to get rid of tension. That’s right, that’s all this was. Tension. She couldn’t get involved with others, risk caring about them again. Yet she found herself softly running a thumb across Salem’s cheek.

Yes, it’s the alcohol… She thought as Salem leaned forward, lips just barely brushing against each other-

“Everything good? I thought I heard someone fall!” Felix had stumbled out of his room into the kitchen, halting as he came across Nyoka and the Captain in a heap on the floor. “Whoa! Are you guys okay?”

Instantly, Salem Price sprang forward, shoving their arm under the counter and revealed the bottle of Spectrum.

“Got the wine!” they proudly announced. Nyoka was stunned, still laying frozen on the floor. The younger man looked confused.

“Don’t you mean vodka, Boss?” Felix scratched his head.

“Oh! Right you are!” Salem barely glanced at the label. “Thank you for checking on us, Felix!”

At this, his face lit up. “Course, anytime! Oh, you okay Nyoka? You look a little spooked.”

There was an awkward beat before she responded.

“I’m fine, Felix,” she said hoarsely. She was still on the floor.

Despite not knowing what he had stumbled onto, Felix was still able to catch the awkward air that hang between them now.

“Right… Well… I’ll just…” he pointed to his cabin door.

“Night, Felix!”

“Yeah. Night.”

When they heard the metallic “chunk” of Felix’s door closing, Nyoka let out the breath she had been holding and looked up. Salem had crouched down next to her and extended a hand. Their head was turned away, their good eye hidden as was the emotion written on their face.

“Sorry,” Salem mumbled.

Nyoka blinked. “For what?”

“I went too far trying to grab the bottle. I didn’t mean to push myself on you like that. I should have heard Felix coming, I hadn’t meant to embarrass you…”

Nyoka pushed herself up to a sitting position and took Salem’s outstretched hand.

“Price, I’ll level with you. You’re a fucking idiot.”

Salem finally looked at her, surprised. Nyoka continued.

“If you thought I’d ever let you get within an inch of me in such a… compromising way without my utmost enthusiastic consent, then I think Phineas must have melted your brain when he was defrosting you.”

A smile crept across her face, which the Captain returned.

“Then, if I may be so bold, would you like to finish this bottle of fine Spectrum Vodka together in my quarters?”

“Only if you stop talking like a massive dork,” Nyoka gave their hand a squeeze.

“Sorry,” Salem helped her to her feet, but didn’t let go. “I get kinda weird when I’m nervous.”

“What’s there to be nervous about, Price?” Nyoka laughed.

“Well I’m holding hands with a girl who’s set my pulse racing since I first laid eyes on her drunk and rambling on Monarch, and I’m so bold as to invite her to my room. I haven’t done this in seventy-or-so odd years, can’t you give me a little break?”

Nyoka gave them a sly grin and, in a moment of boldness that she kept trying to mentally blame on the alcohol, pulled Salem forward. “Let’s see how tonight goes. I’ll get back to you in the morning."


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> wow, a second one! and its more fluff. i hope you like fluff because its not going to stop.

When Nyoka woke, she was staring out at a dazzling display of stars.

It took her a moment to remember where she was, her mind slowed by the haze of a hangover and sleep. She was in a bed - no, not simply any bed, but the bed of her Captain, Salem Price. Salem was curled around her, head buried in Nyoka’s bright pink curls.

“Ohhhh shit,” Nyoka whispered into the crook of her arm, face flushed with heat. She was in bed with the Captain. The one that had waltzed onto Monarch long after all public ships had been banned, who had gone out of their way to get her caffanoid that she didn’t really deserve for a hangover she nursed to forget. The Captain who stirred long-abandoned feelings in Nyoka’s chest that terrified her. Feelings that made her feel warm and full in her current position, a tangle of skin and bedsheets in front of a window looking out at the endless universe.

The first time Nyoka set flight on the Unreliable, she had stood next to Salem on the deck, staring out at space with awe. While the others, used to regular space travel by this point, had dispersed to go about their duties, the two stuck around looking out in silence. She always appreciated how amazing the night sky looked when she camped out in the wilderness, far from the lights of Stellar Bay. But that was nothing compared to the brilliant array of galaxies that swirled in front of her, drifting around as they traveled like gas across a sulfur pond.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Salem asked. Nyoka turned. They were looking at her.

Salem didn’t stir as Nyoka shifted to face them. She was startled to see that they had removed their eyepatch, revealing the full extent of that which it hidden. Parvati had always wondered what was behind the Captain’s eyepatch. Nyoka always assumed it was some sort of bad scar, while Felix speculated it was purely aesthetic used to “look cool”. Once Ellie overheard their discussion and in an unusually serious, grim tone she asserted it was likely to mask some sort of extreme trauma. She was right. Salem not only lacked an eyeball, they lacked any eye socket. What was left was a shallow crater of scar tissue blossoming out from where their eye once was.

It had taken Nyoka by surprise, but her shock was quickly replaced with quiet guilt. Salem had gone through pains to deliberately shield their scar from others, but had trusted Nyoka enough to lower that guard. Honestly, Nyoka didn’t find it disgusting or unsettling as much as she did intriguing. It gave Salem an intimidating roughness that was incongruous with their endlessly warm personality. 

Nyoka found herself wanting that warmth. Something deep within her shook with uncertainty. Part of her was anxious for simply lying beside Price. She was getting in too deep, making things too complicated, risking getting hurt. Salem was a magnet for chaos. Nyoka tried her best to protect them, but the stubborn Earthling would charge headfirst into danger if it was for the sake of others.

“You altruistic idiot,” a sigh fluttered past her lips as she drew herself closer to Salem’s sleeping form. Just this once she would give in to that longing feeling. Only tonight. Pressing her forehead to theirs, she drifted back into a warm sleep.


End file.
